Tags

Thursday, 24 November 2011

Cyclists celebrate successful Yuletide Mince Pie Cycle Ride

Cyclists from across North Down enjoyed a leisurely cycle ride
from Bangor to Holywood and then the RSPB Bird Reserve at Airport
Road, Belfast as part of the Bicycle friendly Borough campaign on Sunday 20
November with campaigners hailing the event as an overwhelming success.

Supported by Sustrans and Friends of the Earth the ride was designed to
raise awareness of the need to fully upgrade the North Down Coastal Path to
accommodate cyclists and pedestrians.

Commenting on the event, Mary Lappin from the Bicycle
friendly Borough campaign remarked “Over sixty people participated in our
Yuletide Seaside Birdhide Mince Pie Bikeride cycling along the North
Down Coastal Path from McKee Clock to Holywood and then the Bird Reserve.
We were particularly grateful for the MLAs and Councillors who joined us including John Barry and Andrew Muir plus the Mayor of North Down Cllr James McKerrow who gave his best wishes
before we set off.

The ride successfully helped us to highlight the need to upgrade
the remaining sections of the Coastal Path whilst also demonstrating the value
of investment made by North Down Borough Council and other agencies.”

Continuing, Mary stated “Cyclists found the newly upgraded section
at Rockport very useful and were able to make their way to Airport Road via the
newly opened gate facilitating cyclists and pedestrians between Kinnegar
and the Harbour Estate.

More work is however required to create a Greenway
between Bangor and Belfast allowing pedestrians and cyclists alike to make
their journey on a safe traffic free route. We therefore intend to request a
meeting with Senior Officers at North Down Borough Council to find out more
about their plans to upgrade the remaining sections”.

I greatly
enjoyed the Mulled Wine and Mince Pies kindly provided on arrival at the Bird
Hide by Bikeworks Cycle Shop, Bangor and will continue to support this
important campaign in the future. We urgently need to upgrade our cycling
infrastructure to make it easier and safer for cyclists to travel from A to B.